At first, Mila thought Liam would be very difficult to persuade to do what he should have done, but who would have thought that the king would just grant his request just like that.

It wasn't that Mila wasn't happy that Liam was working with her so well, but from the way the man was looking at her, Mila could tell that he would demand an explanation for Mila's behavior after they were alone.

​​

It didn't matter to Mila, because she didn't feel there was anything to hide, but she also felt very strange… where did this courage come from?

When she sat on the throne, her anxiety and fear instantly faded and she felt that she could solve every problem that existed, as if everything seemed so easy and meaningless.

There were no significant problems that Mila couldn't solve…

Mila then looked up at the throne, which looked majestic, luxurious and full of power, while Ariel was preparing the materials needed to test anyone who had touched the powder over the past two weeks.

Yes, two weeks was the due time for the powder to no longer be detectable. This was knowledge that was rarely known and Mila was quite happy that Ariel seemed to be working well with her to find out who the culprit was.

During the compounding process, Mila stood beside Liam, while Elena stood not far from them, staring at Mila with intensity that matched as if she wanted to kill her.

Perhaps she would have done that if the elder had been given her the first chance to do so.

"Thank you for cooperating with me," Mila said quietly so only the two of them could hear her. At least, Liam deserved a thank you from her.

Liam glanced at Mila who was standing beside him. "You still owe me an explanation," he said lightly. "That will be the first thing you should do after all this madness is over."

Mila gave a small grin, like a devil's smile. "Yeah, I hope this all ends on something fair."

What Mila means by fair was; Elena received the punishment she deserves and that would be a satisfying thing to see, considering how this woman nearly killed her and blinded her.

It has been said before that Mila was a vengeful figure. She would not miss any opportunity to vent out her anger.

"All preparations have been completed," said Ariel. She then looked at Mila and Liam, waiting for further orders.

"I don't agree with all of this!" cried Rang angrily. He still protested loudly. "This is an insult!"

After saying that, he stepped towards the main door and was about to leave the great hall. However, Liam held him back.

"Anyone who leaves this room, will be considered disobeying the direct orders of the king!" roared Liam in a very loud voice, which at that instant was able to make the steps of Rang and several other elders who were about to follow him stop, they turned around and looked at Liam angrily.

During this time, it was true that Liam had not always followed what they said, but he had never publicly opposed them in public, as he was doing now.

"Is that a threat?" Rang narrowed his eyes, and the tension in the air was palpable. Not a single person spoke, but they knew that things wouldn't go well if Liam and the elders clashed with each other.

"It's not a threat," Liam said coldly, his voice echoing through the great silent hall. "But direct orders. I told you before."

Mila glanced at Liam and was satisfied with this man's firm attitude.

The elders had gone too far and could no longer be said to be advisors within the kingdom when they no longer respected Liam as their king.

The atmosphere grew tense and no one budge from their position, as if time had stopped when Liam and Rang stared at each other and neither of them wanted to cencede.

While the twenty three nobles could do nothing but guess what would happen between the two, because they were too afraid to disturb the moment.

The silence grew more terrifying with each passing second, until at last Rang walked back to his chair and sat there, discouraged from walking away and being rude to his king. At least, he still knew manners and how to respect Liam as a king in front of many people.

Rang's actions were then followed by two elders who had wanted to follow in Rang's footsteps. They were sitting in their respective chairs with long faces, not looking happy at all.

However, that was the last thing they needed to worry about, because now they had something to do.

"All preparations completed?" Liam asked the healer and saw her nodded her head.

"We can try it in the first person," said Ariel, while looking around at the nobles, who immediately tried not to make eye contact with her.

"I will try it first," Liam said suddenly. "So they can see that it's going to be okay and there's nothing to worry about if you weren't the culprit."

Mila folded her arms and smiled with satisfaction that Liam took the initiative to do so first. This would be a good example.

Meanwhile, Elena stood where she was, unmoved. Her eyes were fixed on a big cup filled with murky green water with a twig, which leaves were dipped in the water. He looked at her with hostile eyes, as if the cup had wronged her.

Liam then descended three stairs from his throne with Mila trailing behind him, and walked towards Ariel to be the first, who tried this test.

"What should I do?" Liam asked, looking at Ariel, then at the cup. Ariel then asked the king to stand before her.

Liam did as Ariel said and stood in front of her, with a small round table, between them.

Then while reciting some spells, Ariel took the twig, where the water from the cup dripped from the wet leaves.

After that, Ariel splashed the water at Liam while muttering a spell that sounded like a song.

Three times Ariel did this with her eyes closed and after that she looked at Liam, and said. "How do you feel, Your Highness?" he asked.

Liam did not expect that the procession was just like that and said what he felt. "I feel nothing," he answered honestly.

Ariel smiled. "Then there's nothing to worry about. You never have contact with the powder."

Then, after seeing that Liam was fine and that nothing had happened to him, the nobles seemed more relaxed and willing to be tested.

It took less than half an hour for all the nobles to go through the procession, and none of them indicated that they had ever come into contact with the blinding powder.

After all the nobles have tried it, start with the elders.

Elder Rang took the initiative to try it first, followed by the other five elders, placing Elena as the last elder to be tested.

During this fairly rapid process, each time Elena looked around the room looking for loopholes to escape or find excuses to avoid this, but she couldn't find a single solution.

"Elder Elena, now it's your turn." Mila's sweet voice touched her ears and made Elena even more panicked.

She didn't want to try any of the spells or the water in the cup. Her body was shaking and her legs didn't want her to go anywhere from where she was standing.

"Elder Elena?" called Mila again with a tone that was still very sweet, as if she was an innocent girl calling her mother. "Why are you silent? Now it's your turn to prove your innocence."

Elena gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as she stiffly stepped forward, towards Ariel, under the questioning eyes of everyone in the room.

Of all the people who had been tested, none of them indicated any contact with the white powder and Elena was the last person, who was also the figure that Mila mentioned as the mastermind of her previous assassination plot.

Not only that, if it was true that Elena was proven to have done this, then the consequences she would have to accept would be dire.

With a face full of determination not to make a sound or react whatsoever, Elena then stood in front of Ariel and the healer did what she had been doing all along.

In the first water splash, Elena didn't feel anything, but when Ariel started chanting her spell, she could feel the heat from the water droplets sticking to her body.

However, biting her own lip, she tried not to make a sound.

Second splash…

The heat was like hot coals being rubbed against her body and made Elena hold her breath and bit her lips even tighter, she closed her eyes.

The last splash…

As the spell was almost finished, Ariel suddenly stopped and spoke in an even voice. "Elder Elena had contact with the white powder before."

Suddenly, that statement made Elena open her eyes. "No, she is talking nonsense, I am not…" Elena shook her head at the crowd who were staring at her wide- eyed at what Ariel had told them. "I don't feel anything!" she cried desperately.

"No, but your body…" one of the nobles pointed at Elena's body, and only then did she realize that something had happened to her.

Elena might be able to endure the burning sensation, but not her body…

**************

THE ORIGINAL NOVEL BELONGS TO WEBNOVEL.

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